Tendulkar, Agarkar to play against South Zone

The secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association, Ratnakar Shetty said in Mumbai on Sunday that Indian batting star Sachin Tendulkar and medium pacer Ajit Agarkar are likely to play in the third Duleep Trophy match against South Zone at Surat from January 18-21.

Speaking to Press Trust of India, Shetty said "Agarkar is certain to play the third and fourth (against East Zone at Mumbai from February 1-4) Duleep Trophy league matches while Tendulkar is likely to play in the Surat tie."

Shetty clarified that John Wright had only asked the West Zone selection committee chairman Chandu Borde to rotate the two Indian fast bowlers from the West Zone (Zaheer Khan and Agarkar) for two matches each as he did not want them to be over bowled and exhausted before the home series against Australia.

Shetty said "With West's medium pacer Rakesh Patel ruled out for the first two matches due to foot injury, Khan gets a chance to play in the first two matches while Agarkar will play the last two." He added "As far as Tendulkar is concerned, he had requested Borde not to consider him for the first two matches and is likely to play only against South Zone at Surat."

Mumbai meet TN, Delhi play MP in Wills Trophy openers

Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai will take on Tamil Nadu at Mumbai while Delhi clash with Madhya Pradesh at Gandhidham (Gujarat) in the quarter-final ties of the Wills Trophy limited overs tournament on February 8.

In the third quarter-final, Wills XI will play Bengal at Pune on February 8 while reigning champions Board President's XI, who have got a bye, take on the winners of the Mumbai-Tamil Nadu match at Mumbai on February 11 in the first semi-finals, a Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) source said in Mumbai on Tuesday.

The other semi-final between the winners of Delhi vs MP and Wills XI vs Bengal will be played at Valsad on February 11 while the final will be held at Baroda on February 14, the source added.

The fixtures:

February 8: Mumbai vs Tamil Nadu at Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh vs Delhi at Gandhidham (Gujarat) and Bengal vs Wills XI at Pune (all quarter- finals). February 11: First semi-final: Board President's XI vs winner of Mumbai and Tamil Nadu tie at Mumbai and second semi-final between the winners of the MP-Delhi and Bengal-Wills XI matches at Valsad. February 14: Final at Baroda.

Swapnaj Thakur, Shoeb Shaikh to lead Mumbai U-16, U-14 teams

The secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association, Ratnakar Shetty said in a press release in Mumbai that Swapnoj Thakur would lead the Under-16 team for the KnockOut stage for the Vijay Merchant Trophy tournament matches to be played in Calcutta from January 5 onwards.

Meanwhile, Shoeb Shaikh would lead Mumbai in the West Zone under-14 league matches. Mumbai are slated to take on Baroda at Mumbai from January 6 to 8 and Maharashtra at Pune from January 11 to 13.

The teams:

Under-16: Swapnoj Thakur (captain), Sahil Kukreja, Rakesh Kanojiya, Rohan Saldhana, Hiten Shah, Sanket Bhaye, Parag Madkaikar, Pradosh Mayekar, Karim Zindani, Arif Sunsara, Ashish Gupta, Gautam Yadav, Markesh Bhat, Kshemal Waingankar and Vikrant Yelligatti.

Under-14: Shoeb Shaikh (captain), Sagar Pawar, Bhavish Shetty, Gaurang Shah, Prashant Naik, Siddharth Chitnis, Mishal Hejmadi, Pratik Kar, Siddharth Shetty, Sanket Chavan, Mandar Athavale, Jaowanil Pawar, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinar Gaokar and Umesh Bondre.

Bengal, Orissa Ranji teams for fund raiser in Siliguri

The Urban Development Minister of West Bengal Ashok Bhattacharya said in Calcutta on Sunday that he was trying to organize a friendly match between the Ranji Trophy teams of Bengal and Orissa at Siliguri to raise funds for an indoor stadium there.

Talking to reporters at the Eden Gardens, Bhattacharya said, "I have had discussion with Sourav Ganguly on this issue. He has promised me all the help. In fact, Ganguly has also talked to Debashis Mohanty on my behalf. The Orissa team is quite enthusiastic to the idea."

The Minister also informed that Ganguly would also take part in a polio eradication programme. "He has given his confirmation on this and the programme will take place between January 25 to 30 next year," said Bhattacharya.

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